Monday, 31 May 2004

Fri afternoon(4pm) I ordered the turbo water feed pipe from FIAT dealer in Paisley.
Sat morning I get a phone call at 10am ! , to say its arrived.
Now thats what I call service. (Albeit I did provide the partno)

Friday, 28 May 2004

I think my car has got stroppy..........
Today after a run home ,the coolant hose from turbo to cylinder head decided to leak!
As an assumption I can only presume that the increased heat(from a bust manifold) is the reason (oh and the fact its been on since 1997!)

Re: Break in
Clarion original stereo back in for just now.
Really cant believe how bad the stereo is compared to my nicked Kenwood unit.

Tuesday, 18 May 2004

Window was fixed on Sat morning by RAC AutoWindscreens. Fantastic job and they even did some windscreen chips too.

Manifold (or other!) is getting worse , so a trip to Wigan Paul or MotorMech looks a certanty very soon.

Had an idea to build carbon style covers for both radio surround (inc cigarette area) this would cover the console damage and also allow space for guages etc
also thought it would look good on outer badge panels + handle black bits

Wednesday, 12 May 2004

Arghhhhhhh
Car has started to 'tick' when cold for the first 15seconds or so when under light load.
Strangely enough its quite under no load!
Oil level is max , and I've been filling up with 15W50 Mobil 1.
Tappets were my initial thought , but its been silent since I bought it.
Manifold was replaced with the updated 'ribbed' version by the previous owner.
So its only lasted a year or so :-(

Reports from indicate failure is common on the 20VT.
Apparently it will last for a while , but its days are numbered.

Options are to get a FIAT replacement OR plump for one of the custom stainless manifolds being arranged as group buys. Whichever way its gonna be ~500 notes sigh.....

Will pull bag heatshield at some point to see if I can see crack.

Re: Boost levels :: Greddy boost gauge is fab , runs around -400mmHg on idle. And up to 1.3bar overboost , dropping down to 0.7 at redline. I have my suspicions about a faulty EBV , but it will have to wait for now.

2nd Apr 2004 :: Greddy 60mm Boost Gauge (pic)arrives from Japan in 4 days! Bought from JapAndy on Ebay. Originally I wanted a mech one , but this is the electronic version with peak/warning settings :-) For me this guage is a good match for the coupe dials. Only downside is the backlight is green but some bulb colouring may adapt this. For the same price I could have had 2 autometer carbonfibre style gauges but didnt quite like the style!! As to a mounting postion Im not sure. Also received my fiat coupe brochures (ebay) and new wheel bolts (group buy off fccuk forum). 55300 miles

21st Mar 2004 :: Checked oil (as I do regularly) and it was halfway down[MIN-MAX] dipstick. Added 0.5ltr to top up. Ordered a Greddy Boost gauge from USA after a failed auction on ebay for a 2nd hand one. Best match for dials , location to fit as yet undecided :-) Cant afford a nomad pod too. Definitely like the idea of refurbishing my alloys with a black M style colour.
see Photoshop pic

1st Mar 2004 :: Jeeze! Has it really been 2 months? Car is currently being used everyday for work while I do long hours. Handling seems odd , which I suspect is a sure sign the front wishbones are shot....Car loves the cold weather and economy is not bad 220 miles/tank while commuting (Optimax only).Car still continues to excite even after months of ownership , the only downside is its propensity to attract dents! Oil consumption is negligible , oil pressure sitting at 2.5bar(idle) when warm. Rolling Road day soon at Dastek , so the service will have to come before then.
54700miles

1st Jan 2004 :: Cold weather galore. Frozen handbrake most of the time , so car has to be left in gear at night. Central Locking also failed when frozen , but a reset by removing the 4 underbonnet fuses sorted that ...This has also reset the ECU so I will see if the misfire is any better as well.
53750miles

17th Dec 2003 :: At Last ! Picked the car up , and the colour match looks superb. Also got the rear bumper scrapes and one of the corroded rear light surrounds done at the same time. Its been an absolute delight going back to the coupe after a new shape Polo 1.0L as a hire car. Big Thanks to Myles who pulled all the stops out to get a perfect match on the car There are just soooo many design and styling touches that make the coupe a true performance bargain :-)
53500miles

7th Dec 2003 :: Ho hum , picked up car but colours not quite right! So its going back in. On the plus side , the passengers door dents have been removed. And the car looks soooo much better without 1001 stonechips. TODO list includes : Engine movement / spark plugs and oil change.
53350 miles

24th Nov 2003 :: Car dropped off at bodyshop (Myles Coachworks) to get bonnet resprayed and bumps taken out. Front F1 tyres are fab . Still too much understeer in the wet though. I suspect thats to do with the coupes 68/32 weight distibution tho....
53190 miles